I’m a born and bred Southern California girl, who became an unexpected Manitoba girl when I went and fell in love with a Winnipegger. I invite you to join me on this journey of adjustment and adventure as I learn to adapt my passion for cooking, baking, gardening and interior design, to this very different culture and climate. Just click on the ‘follow’ button!

The Autumn Infused Latte

As I stand here at my kitchen window, watching the autumn rain turn the yellowing leaves to a shimmering gold, I feel the urge to enjoy a hot, steaming cup of something.

We all know that our favorite coffee house has some of the best seasonal coffee drinks around. But, here in Winnipeg, I still haven’t gotten used to there not being one on every corner. The nearest one is over a mile away. Not a distance I’d care to walk in the rain on this 58F/14C afternoon.

So, what to do? I’ll make one myself.

Here’s how I did it, with things I found in my pantry and fridge.

About a cup and a half of milk goes into a large measuring cup…

Add about 3 tablespoons of plain canned pumpkin…

An 1/8th of a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice (or to taste)…

Sugar to taste (I used one packet of sugar substitute)…

Stir until combined with a whisk or other such utensil…

Now to heat it up. Microwave the mixture for two minutes on high…

Then again, for one minute. DO NOT heat the milk mixture for the full three minutes, all at one time. It will erupt all over the place and you will then have made a pumpkin spiced microwave…

Remove the mixture and again, stir it well…

Pour the mixed contents through a sieve, into your mug of choice..

You will notice little bits of stuff left behind in the sieve, this is why you’ll want to strain your mixture. So, the final product comes out smooth and silky.

So, we’ve got the latte’ part. Where’s the caffeine part, you ask?

Stir two heaping teaspoons of powdered vanilla coffee mix into the pumpkin mixture…

And for the grand finale…A dollop of whipped cream! Just because…

And there you have it. Your very own homemade spiced vanilla-pumpkin latte’.

Great job!

This was the perfect choice to make. It seems to taste better and better with every sip as the raindrops begin to fall heavier across our autumn garden. Cheers!